Maintenance of dental instruments, for example, dental turbines and dental handpieces, is a difficult task. Rotating components incorporated in dental instruments are delicate and complex devices. In a clinical assessment, cleaning and lubrication of high speed handpieces have been found to be critical in determining their performance and durability. A manufacturer's instructions for cleaning, lubrication, and sterilization should be followed correctly to ensure the efficiency of the process and the longevity of the handpieces.
Sterilization of medical and dental instruments is required in medical offices and dental offices. Moist heat sterilization under high pressure and a high temperature, which are well known in the art, are used for sterilizing medical and dental instruments. However, moist heat sterilization at high pressure and high temperature can cause permanent damage to medical and dental instruments, for example, high speed handpieces. Dental high speed handpieces are known to be very difficult and costly to moist heat sterilize and maintain. One possible cause of damage to a high speed handpiece is chemical corrosion of a metal component therewithin due to the presence of water or moisture on the surfaces or interstitial cavities of the high speed handpiece. Moisture that resides in interstitial cavities of high speed handpieces is generally not removed by conventional pre-sterilization cleaning methods such as manual scrubbing, air driven oiling using specialized appliances, for example, Assistina™ of the W & H Group, Austria, etc. Moisture tends to condense within the interstitial cavities even after substantial pre-sterilization cleaning due to the complex geometries and interstitial cavities in the high speed handpieces. This moisture may mix with lubrication oil that may be present in the high speed handpiece and cause damage to the high speed handpiece during sterilization at elevated temperatures and during normal usage of the high speed handpiece. If water and moisture can be completely removed during the pre-sterilization cleaning process, damage to the high speed handpiece during sterilization and normal usage can be substantially reduced.
Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a vacuum assisted dehydration system that dehydrates one or more instruments, for example, medical instruments, dental instruments, etc., using a negative gas pressure to remove moisture from the instruments, for example, before a lubrication process to maximize lubrication of instrument turbines to extend the useful life of the instruments.